Hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors



Sept. 2, 1969 G. c;. INGHAM 3,464,162

I HINGE SHAFT ASSEMBLY FOR BALANCED DOORS Filed Jan. 15, 1968 36 J5 3&5lllu "I L40 INVENTOR Gary G. [Hy/2am ATTORNEY United States Patent3,464,162 HINGE SHAFT ASSEMBLY FGR BALANCED DOORS Gary G. Ingham,Oklahoma City, Okla, assignor to Roto- Swing Door Co., Inc., OklahomaCity, Okla, a corporation of Oklahoma Filed Jan. 15, 1968, Ser. No.697,981 Int. Cl. EllSd 7/08, /28; E061) 7/23 US. Cl. 49-383 8 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge shaft assembly for balanced doorswherein the hinge shaft for the door is disposed in such a relationshipwith respect to the vertical door frame as to permit clearance for thepivot arms of the door without the necessity of providing slots in theupper and lower portions of the door frame. The inner edge of thevertical door frame is open for receiving the hinge shaft assemblytherein, and the hinge shaft is vertically disposed in the open edge ofthe door frame in such a manner that at least half the shaft extendsbeyond the confines of the door frame thus eliminating or precludinginterference between the pivot arms and vertical door frame duringopening or closing of the door. A yieldable finger guard member isdisposed over the exposed portion of the shaft which extends beyond thedoor frame for protection of the shaft and protection of the usersduring use of the door. The entire hinge shaft assembly may be quicklyand easily installed in the open edge of the door frame.

This invention relates to improvements in balanced door structures andmore particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a hinge shaftassembly for securing balanced door leaves in a door frame.

Balanced doors of the type wherein the opening and closing thereof is acombined swinging and sliding action with one portion of the door leafmoving inwardly of the door frame and the other portion thereof movingoutwardly of the door frame are in widespread use today because of thecomparative ease of opening and closing thereof. Most of these doors areprovided with pivot arms at the upper and lower ends thereof whichextend between the vertical hinge shaft and the door for pivotallysupporting the door in the door frame. The hinge shaft for the door isnormally vertically disposed within the door frame adjacent the dooropening and is concealed therein. As a result, it is necessary toprovide a slot or opening at the upper and lower ends of the door framefor clearance of the pivot arms during opening and closing of the door.Thus, not only is installation and maintenance of the hinge shaftdiflicult, but additional expense and difficulty is encountered incutting away a portion of the door frame for accommodating the pivotarms.

The present invention contemplates a novel hinge shaft assembly for a'balanced door which is particularly designed and constructed forfacilitating installation thereof in connection with a door frame and toeliminate any need for cutting away any portion of the door frame toaccommodate the working portions of the door, such as the pivot arms.The hinge shaft is vertically disposed in the proximity of the doorframe in such a manner that at least half of the shaft extends beyondthe confines of the door frame, thus facilitating the installation andmaintenance thereof. The pivot arms extend between the hinge shaft andthe door for supporting the door in the door opening, and since thehinge shaft is disposed beyond the confines of the door frame, there isno interference between the pivot arms and door frame during the openingor closing of the door. In addition, a yield- "ice able guard member isdisposed on the door frame for encasing the hinge shaft andsubstantially precluding accidental harm or damage to users of the door.The novel hinge shaft assembly is simple and efficient in operation andeconomical and durable in construction.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a novel hingeshaft assembly for balanced doors particularly designed and constructedfor elimination of interference between the door frame and pivot armsduring operation of the door.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel hinge shaftassembly wherein installation and maintenance of the assembly is greatlyfacilitiated.

Other and further objects and advantageous features of the presentinvention will hereinafter more fully appear in connection with adetailed description of the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a balanced door provided with ahinge shaft assembly embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a typical single leaf balanced door in anopen position, with the path of travel of one end thereof depicted indotted lines.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 depicting a two way balanceddoor.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURES 3 and 4 depicting a double leafone way balanced door.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character 10 generallyindicates a balanced door adapted to be disposed in the usual door frameor doorway 12 having vertical door jams 14 and 16 and an upper doorframe or lintel 18. The balanced door 10 may be of any suitable or wellknown type and whereas the particular door installation depicted inFIGURES 1 through 3 comprises a single door leaf 20 mounted in thedoorway 12, there is not intention of limiting the use of the inventionto this particular balanced door installation. The door leaf 20 asdepicted herein is provided with a peripheral frame 22 supporting acentral portion 24 made of glass, or the like. It is to be understood,however, that the door leaf 20 may be of a slab structure or any othersuitable door construction, and is not in any manner limited to thedecorative design depicted herein. In addition, the door leaf 20 shownin FIGURES 1 through 3 substantially fills the width of the doorway 12in the closed position thereof.

The leaf 20 is suspended from the upper frame 18 in a manner as will behereinafter set forth whereby the leaf simultaneously rotates and slidesalong the frame 18 during opening and closing of the door. For example,the leaf 2t? pivots in a clockwise direction upon opening thereof, asviewed in the drawings, and simultaneously slides along the door frame18 in a direction toward the jamb 14. Upon closing of the door 10, theleaf 20 pivots in an opposite direction, or counterclockwise direction,and simultaneously slides along the frame 18 in a direction toward thejamb 16. Thus, during the opening and closing operation, the outer end26 of the door leaf 20 moves through the elliptical path indicated bythe dotted line in FIGURE 3.

It will be apparent that the combined pivoting and sliding action of thedoor leaf 20 results in a disposition thereof adjacent the door jam-b 14in the open position thereof in such a manner that substantially half ofthe door leaf extends on each side of the door jamb. In addition, thepath of travel of the outer end 26 of the door leaf 20 is reduced to aminimum distance from the doorway 12, thus decreasing the distancethrough which the door must travel during the opening thereof. In thismanner, the door 10 may be fully opened and moved to an out-of-the-wayposition in a manner greatly reducing any interference with a personmoving through the doorway 12. Furthermore, the door leaf 20 opens to afull ninety degree position against the door jamb to provide a maximumopening for the doorway for facilitating passage of traffic through theopen door.

The door jamb 14 as particularly shown in FIGURE 2 is substantiallyrectangular in cross section, and the inwardly directed edge 28 thereofis open for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth. A pair ofoppositely disposed inwardly directed ribs or flanges 30 and 32 areprovided on the inner periphery of the jamb 14 spaced slightly inwardlyfrom the open edge 28. The ribs 30 and 32 extend verticallysubstantially throughout the length of the jamb 14. A vertical hinge pinor shaft 34 is disposed in the open edge 28 substantially centrallyspaced between the opposite sides thereof and with at least one-half ofthe shaft 34 extending beyond the confines of the jamb 14. The lowermostend (not shown) of the shaft 34 is suitably journaled in the floor plate(not shown) of the doorway 12 and the uppermost end (not shown) of theshaft 34 is similarly journaled in the upper door lintel 18 whereby theshaft 34 may rotate freely about the vertical or longitudinal axisthereof, as is well known.

An upper hinge arm or offset pivot arm 36 is secured to the upper end ofthe hinge shaft 34 and extends radially outwardly therefrom into arecess 38 provided in the upper end 40 of the door leaf 20. A pivot pin(not shown) is secured to the outer extremity of the hinge arm 36 andextends downwardly therefrom into a suitable bearing support member 42disposed in the recess 38. A lower hinge arm 44 is secured to the lowerend of the hinge shaft 34 and extends radially therefrom into a grooveor recess 46 provided in the lower end 48 of the door leaf 20. A pivotpin (not shown) is suitably secured in the recess 46 in substantiallyaxial alignment with the upper pivot pin and extends downwardly into asuitable ball bearing member 50 carried in the lower hinge arm 44. Thelower pivot pin cooperates with the upper pivot pin for conmeeting thehinge arms 36 and 44 between the hinge shaft 34 and the door leaf 20 forsupporting the door leaf and providing an offset pivot axis for thehinge arms 36 and 44.

Of course, the door leaf 20 is pivotally and slidably connected with theupper door lintel 18 in any suitable manner (not shown) as is well knownin balanced door structures whereby the operation of the door will be ashereinafter set forth.

A vertically extending guard member 52 of substantially U-shaped crosssectional configuration is disposed around the exposed portion of theshaft 34 and extends substantially throughout the length thereof forprotection of the shaft and for protection of the persons using door 10.The guard 52 is preferably constructed from a yieldable material, suchas rubber, or the like, and is provided with a pair of oppositelydisposed longitudinally extending bead portions 54 and 56 conterminouswith the open sides of the U-shaped configuration of the guard memberfor facilitating securing of the guard in the jamb opening 28. A pair ofsubstantially identical but oppositely disposed retainer strips 58 and60 are disposed adjacent the ribs 30 and 32, respectively, for retainingthe guard 52 in position.

Each strip 58 and 60 is provided with a perpendicularly disposedlongitudinally extending strengthening rib 62 and 64, respectively,disposed within the jamb 14 upon securing of the strips thereto. Inaddition, each strip 58 and 60 is provided with a longitudinallyextending holding member 66 and 68, respectively, of arcuateconfiguration adjacent the inwardly directed edges thereof, with thearcuate configuration of the holding members 66 and 68 beingcomplementary to the configuration of the bead members 54 and 56,respectively. The head members 54 and 56 are disposed in the respectiveholding members 66 and 68 in order to retain the guard 52 securely inposition around the hinge shaft 34, and within the jamb opening 28. Of

course, the strips 58 and 60 may be secured against the ribs 30 and 32in any well known manner, such as by a pair of spaced upper and lowerretaining blocks 70 and 72. The blocks 70 and 72 may be disposed at theopposite ends of the guard 52, as particularly shown in FIGURE 1, andare secured to the ribs 30 and 32 by a plurality of spaced threaded studmembers 74 which extend through the respective retaining strips 58 and60 for removably securing the strips within the jamb opening 28.

The finger guard 52 extends longitudinally substantially throughout thelength of the vertical hinge shaft 34. However, as shown in FIGURE 1, itis to be noted that the guard 52 terminates slightly below the upperpivot arm 36 and slightly above the lower pivot arm 44. Similarly, theupper retaining block 70 is disposed below the upper pivot arm 36, andthe lower retaining block 72 is disposed slightly above the lower pivotarm 44, :thus precluding interference with the pivotal movement of thepivot anms during opening or closing of the door, Thus, the inner ends76 (only one of which is shown in FIGURE 2) of the pivot arms extendinto the interior of the door jamb 14. In addition, it is preferablethat the inner end 76 be of arcuate configuration for facilitatingpivoting of the arms 36 and 44, and a radially extending shoulder 78 maybe provided on the arcuate portion for engaging the retaining strip 60to provide a stop to limit the pivoting movement of the pivot arms inthe closing direction.

The hinge shaft 34 and pivot arms 36 and 44 may be quickly and easilyinstalled in the jamb opening 28, and the guard 52 may be disposedtherearound and easily secured to the jamb 14. The door 10 may then beoperated in the usual manner. In the event it becomes necessary toreplace or repair any portion of the hinge shaft assembly, the retainerstrips 58 and 60 may be easily removed for facilitating access to thehinge shaft, and other operating parts thereof.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5, modified forms of balanced doors aredepicted with which the novel hinge shaft assembly may be utilized. Forexample, a two way balanced door 10a is shown in FIGURE 4 of the typeshown in the I. C. Catlett Patent No. 3,247,617, issued Apr. 26, 1966,and entitled Two Way Automatic Door. The door 10a comprises a pair ofsubstantially identical door leaves 80 and 82 mounted in a singledoorway opening 84. The door leaves 80 and 82 are each of a widthsubstantially equal to half the width of the doorway 84 and in theclosed position thereof fill the doorway.

The leaf 80 is secured to one door jamb 14a by means of a hinge shaftassembly as hereinbefore set forth, including a pair of pivot arms 36a(only one of which is shown in FIGURE 4) and a finger guard 52a. Theopening and closing of the door leaf 20 is substantially as hereinbeforeset forth. The door leaf 82 is secured to a second door jamb 16a bymeans of a hinge shaft assembly as hereinbefore set forth, including apair of pivot arms 36b (only one of which is shown in FIGURE 4), and afinger guard 52b. The opening and closing of the door leaf 82 issubstantially identical with that of the door leaf 20, but oppositethereto, as particularly set forth in the aforementioned Catlett patent.

The particular installation depicted in FIGURE 5 illustrates a balanceddoor 10b wherein a pair of door leaves 86 and 88 are mounted in a singledorway 90, but the door leaves 88 open in a manner providing for one-wayfiow of pedestrain trafiic through the doorway 84. The door leaf 86 issecured to one door jamb 14b by a hinge shaft assembly as hereinbeforeset forth, including a pair of pivot arms 33c (only one of which isshown in FIGURE 5) and a finger guard 520. The door leaf 88 is securedto a second door jamb 1612 by means of a hinge shaft assembly ashereinbefore set forth, including a pair of pivot arms 36d (only one ofwhich is shown in FIGURE 5) and a finger guard 52d. The path of travelof the outer ends 86a and 88a of the door leaves 86 and 88,respectively, is shown in dotted lines.

Balanced doors are provided or installed in conditions wherein the dooris opened manually, and also in conditions wherein the door is actuatedby a door operator which may be of a remote control type, as is wellknown. However, the hinge assembly of the present invention may beutilized with equal eificiency on any type of balanced doorinstallation.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a novel hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors which may bequickly and easily installed in a door jamb. The novel hinge assembly isparticularly designed and constructed for precluding interferencebetween the door jamb and the offset pivot arms during opening andclosing of the door. Access to the hinge shaft is greatly facilitated inthe event it is necessary to repair or replace the hinge pivot shaft, orother elements related thereto. The novel hinge shaft assembly is simpleand efficient in operation and economical and durable in construction.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts asheretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, itbeing understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of theinvention may be made within the scope of the following claims, Withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors comprising a door jambhaving one edge thereof open, a vertical hinge shaft journalled in theopen edge of the door jamb, said hinge shaft being disposed in said openedge whereby at least half of the shaft extends entirely beyond theconfines of the door jamb, a finger guard disposed around the exposedportion of the hinge shaft, pivot arm means connecting the hinge withthe door, and

retainer means removably secured to the open edge of thedoor jamb forretaining the finger guard in position.

'2. A hinge shaft assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fingerguard is constructed from resilient material, and said finger guard issubstantially U-shaped in cross sectional configuration.

3. A hinge shaft assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fingerguard is provided with longitudinally extending bead means conterminouswith the open portion of the U-shaped configuration thereof forcooperation with the retainer means for retaining the finger guard inposition.

4. A hinge shaft assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivot armmeans includes an upper pivot arm secured in the proximity of the upperend of the hinge shaft, a lower pivot arm secured in the proximity ofthe lower end of the hinge shaft, and said finger guard extends betweenthe upper and lower pivot arms for precluding interference therebetweenduring opening and closing of the door.

5. A hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors as set forth in claim 4wherein stop means is provided on at least one pivot arm for cooperationwith the retainer means for limiting the movement of the pivot arms inthe door closing direction.

6. A hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors comprising a door jambhaving one edge thereof open, a vertical hinge shaft journalled in theopen edge of the door jamb, a finger guard disposed around the exposedportion of the hinge shaft, pivot arm means connecting the hinge shaftwith the door, and retainer means removably secured to the open edge ofthe door jamb for retaining the finger guard in position, said retainermeans including a pair of spaced longitudinally extending strip membersremovably secured to the open edge of the door jamb, and longitudinallyextending arcuate rib means provided on each strip for receiving aportion of the finger guard therein for securing the finger guard inposition around the hinge shaft.

7. A hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors comprising a door jambhaving one edge thereof open, a vertical hinge shaft journalled in theopen edge of the door jamb, said hinge shaft being disposed in said openedge whereby at least half of the shaft extends beyond the confines ofthe door jamb, yieldable finger guard means disposed around the exposedportion of the hinge shaft, said finger guard being of substantiallyU-shaped cross sectional configuration, longitudinally extending beadmeans provided on the finger guard conterminous with the open edges ofthe U-shaped configuration thereof, pivot arm means connecting the hingeshaft with the door, said pivot arm means comprising spaced upper andlower pivot arms carried by the hinge shaft and extending radiallyoutward therefrom, said finger guard being interposed between the pivotarms for precluding interference during opening and closing of the door,and retainer means removably secured to the open edge of the door jambfor retaining the finger guard in position.

8. A hinge shaft assembly for balanced doors as set forth in claim 8wherein the retainer means; includes a pair of spaced longitudinallyextending strip members removably secured to the open edge of the doorjamb on opposite sides of the finger guard, and longitudinally extendingrib means provided on each strip member for engaging the bead means ofthe finger guard for securing the finger guard in position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,866,236 12/1958 West 493843,247,617 4/1966 Catlett 49252 XR 3,354,586 11/1967 DenBesten 49-504KENNETH DOWN-EY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

